We Are Hiring a Research Assistant!

The Social and Affective Neuroscience Lab is hiring a full time RA to work on our healthy eating intervention. The perfect person would be a bright, motivated, and conscientious postbac with an interest in translational neuroscience. We’ll begin reviewing applications at the end of May.

About the position

The Research Assistant is responsible for managing day-to-day scheduling, coordination, tracking, recruitment, and retention of subjects. The Research Assistant runs assessment sessions including neuroimaging, conducts telephone interviews, and works closely with the project coordinator and Principal Investigator to achieve project goals. Supervision and training of undergraduate staff and ongoing interaction with the internal review board for human subjects’ protection is also expected.

Full position description here: http://careers.uoregon.edu/cw/en-us/job/522124/research-assistant

About the project

This project, “Devaluing energy-dense foods for cancer control,” adopts a translational neuroscience approach to compare the mechanisms of action of two programs to change eating behavior. Excessive eating of energy-dense and obesity are risk factors for a range of cancers. There are programs to reduce intake of these foods and weight loss, but the effects of the programs rarely last. This project tests whether altering the value of cancer-risk foods can create lasting change and uses neuroimaging to compare the efficacy of two programs to engage the valuation system on a neural level. Results will establish the pathways through which the programs work and suggest specific treatments for individuals based on a personalized profile.

About the lab

Research in the SAN Lab investigates how motivational and cognitive factors contribute to goal pursuit using methods from social psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Our research program is guided by the belief that studying the intersection of basic neural processes, cognition, affective and motivational systems, and long-term behavioral outcomes is the best way to understand self-regulation and to develop novel interventions to help people be successful in their goal pursuit.

About Elliot Berkman

Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Oregon
Director of the Social and Affective Neuroscience Lab
Associate Director of the Center for Translational Neuroscience